Pursuit And Seeking

"Metamorphose" is an phenomenon in the works of western literature from the myth of ancient Greece to modernist literature. This thesis attempts to explore the theme of metamorphose in western literary works.By studying The Metmorphosis in western literature (The Metmorphosis by Roman writer Ovid\The Golden Ass by Roman writer Apuleius\The Metmorphosis by Austria writer Kafka and Pot of Gold by Hoffman who is a German romantic writer),we can know how the westerners understand and reveal the living situation of human being.This thesis is divided into three parts.The introduction,analyze the special values of the "metamorphose" in the western works of literature from theoretical level.Analyzing the "metamorphose" in the western literature, the first part discusses the definition of the "metamorphose" and the situation of the "metamorphose" at home and abroad.The second part is the most important section of the paper,analyzing historical evolution of the "metamorphose" in the western literature with differences of cultural connotations as the main contents.This part is divided into five stages.The first stage is the description of the "metamorphose" in the Greek mythology, holding that the "metamorphose" is the view of life on the basis of "life is imperishable" and "things infiltration";The "metamorphose" is a kind of artistic expression in the works.In the The Golden Ass,the leading character is from the people into the ass,at last,he is saved by goddess.Subjectivity of the human is rising in the second stage;In the third stage,people are confident that they can be saved by themselves.People have deduced into the animal,but the animal change into people at last through love in the Pot of Gold by Hoffman;People have lost their confidence in the The Metmorphosis by Austria writer Kafka, and died in the fourth stage; In the fifth stage, people return to the nature regain hope in the Pig Tales.Revealing their differences in content and artistic concepts of works in different periods in the third part.The conclusion is given at last."Metamorphose" is an important means of artistic expression.By analyzing the metamorphose texts(We will mainly analyze the works of literature that is the person and animal changing in to each other.),we can reveal their differences in content and artistic concepts of works in different periods.We will know how the westerners understand and explore the living situation of the human being clearly.